Peculiarities of Minerals Identification by Reflectance Spectra Obtained With Acousto‐Optic Spectrometers

Abstract

The acousto‐optic tuneable filters can be used as main dispersive or auxiliary elements in compact spectrometers applied for various purposes such as atmospheric gas composition analysis, agriculture, or mineralogical analysis. This paper describes the features that arise when the problem of mineral identification is solved using an acousto‐optic spectrometer. Estimates of such spectral device sensitivity are given in terms of the direct minimum detectable percentage ratio between the parent rock and the mineral being identified. It is shown that the minimum detectable value of the mineral percentage content depends significantly on its absorption band characteristics. The presented results can be generalized to reflectance spectra obtained by other types of optical spectrometers with similar characteristics and are of importance for the mineralogical analysis both in studies of the Earth's surface and other objects in the Solar System.